Kolkata: India continued their unbeaten run in the ongoing Cricket World Cup 2023 as they decimated South Africa by a staggering 243 runs in a lop-sided league stage fixture of the ongoing Cricket World Cup in Kolkata. Opting to bat, India posted a challenging 326/5 on the board as they rode Virat Kohli's dogged 101 not out on a challenging Eden Garden track and then bowled out the opposition for partly 83 to register a comfortable win.
An elated skipper Rohit Sharma said that the team adapted well to the situations in the last three games. "If we look at how we played in the last three games, we played better in terms of adapting to the situation. We were put under pressure against England. In the last game as well, we lost a wicket in the first over but got to a good score and seamers came to the party.
"Today was not an easy pitch, you needed someone like Kohli, who batted to the situation. Not to forget Shreyas (Iyer). It's important to let guys have freedom in the middle and what the team expects from them. You know it can't always be done but when it does it looks good and that's what happened with (Mohammed) Shami," added Rohit Sharma.
Rohit Sharma also spoke about his opening partnership with Shubman Gill, which on Sunday gave the Men in Blue a flying start. "Same with Iyer, wasn't getting the runs but he's showed in the last two games the kind of class he has. Going hard in the first ten isn't something we've discussed. That's how (Shubman) Gill and I have batted together. We let our instincts take over. If the wicket is good, we keep going and things fall in place," the right-handed batter said.
The India skipper was also effusive in his praise for left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who took a fifer and ran through the South African line-up.
"Jadeja has been really good. Big matchwinner. He keeps doing the job, goes under the radar but today is a classic case of what he does - score late runs and take wickets. Not to get ahead of ourselves is something we are constantly talking about. When we turn up, we want to play to our potential," Rohit Sharma concluded.
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